ICC World T20 Europe

ICC World T20 Europe

Eighteen countries from the European region will compete in the ICC World T20 Europe Qualifiers

Three groups of six will compete in single round robins

The top two of each group will advance to the ICC World T20 Europe Final in 2019

All three groups will be staged in the Netherlands between 29 August and 03 September 2018

Denmark and Jersey, ICC World Cricket League Division 4 sides, will face tough opposition if they’re to progress towards the ICC World T20 2020 as the draw for the ICC World T20 Europe Qualifier was announced today.

Denmark are joined in group A by Germany where cricket is growing rapidly as well as France, Austria, Cyprus and Portugal. Jersey, in group B, will be joined by fellow top seed Italy along with Belgium, Spain, Isle of Man and Finland.

Group C sees Nordic neighbours Sweden and Norway go head to head against fifth and final top seed Guernsey, Gibraltar, Israel and Czech Republic. All three groups will be staged as part of a single event to be held in the Netherlands between 29 August and 3 September 2018 with the top two teams from each going through to the European Final in 2019.

The European Qualifier and Final are part of a new simplified qualification process for ICC global events that provides a merit based pathway for every Member announced by the ICC earlier this week. As well as reducing the number of steps towards a global event, the new process also provides more regular competitive opportunities for more Members with the ultimate aim of more competitive teams in T20 cricket.

18 European teams will vie for six spots in the ICC World T20 Europe Final in 2019 demonstrating the tremendous growth of cricket across Europe. The competing teams will have an opportunity to join the four other European nations (England, Ireland, Scotland and Netherlands) who have already qualified for the ICC World T20 or the ICC T20 Global Qualifier.

ICC Regional Development Manager Europe Ed Shuttleworth commented: “It is incredibly exciting to see 22 European nations challenge for spots in the ICC World T20 2020. 18 of these teams will start their journey start in the Netherlands on the 29th of August 2018 with the remainder joining in 2019 or 2020 itself. The number of national teams competing is evidence of the expansion of cricket across Europe and we look forward to this wonderful celebration of European Cricket.”

The Netherlands has been selected to host this event and is looking forward to accommodating their European neighbours on their world class facilities. Chairperson Betty Timmer commented “We are excited to host the ICC World T20 Europe Qualifiers. The event will be an incredible spectacle with 18 countries playing across three groups of six. The KNCB look forward to welcoming our European friends to the Netherlands”.